


The Same Bloated Note

by Mercurians



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: I just love Knights this big dysfunctional weird family, M/M, endgame LeoKasa but there will be hints of everything, probably especially IzuAra and IzuLeo, will add other characters as i get to them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-20
Updated: 2017-09-20
Packaged: 2018-12-31 20:42:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12140736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercurians/pseuds/Mercurians
Summary: "In spite of everything, all of your frequencies match against mine. I think we were birthed from the same bloated note."Collection of Knights- and LeoKasa-centric drabbles.1: After the Christmas Party, Tsukasa listens to his gift.





	The Same Bloated Note

**Author's Note:**

> Hello Enstars fandom, I hope you like large collections of non-chronological shippy one shots. It's sort of my thing?
> 
> (This one's not very explicitly shippy actually, but we'll build up to it!! Gotta start small.)
> 
> I guess this is my first time writing any of these boys, so bare with me as I get used to their voices. Writing Leo is going to murder me. I'm so hyped.

Tsukasa stayed behind after the Christmas party.

The night drew on, the last traces of sunlight fading from the heavily-curtained windows shielding their makeshift practice room. Through cleaning duties and curfews, through questions and worried scolding, Tsukasa made excuses to stay there. He waved his hand, anxiously tidying costume racks and boxes of bromide. He was determined.

It was difficult to stay even as Arashi and Anzu at last took their leave, to insist that he was only waiting for his driver, that he would rather they go on without him. Quite reasonably, they didn’t seem to buy it.

But finally, in the end, they left. And finally Tsukasa could do what he’d waited all day for.

Tsukasa opened his bag, searching the contents for one item in particular. Gathering it, he slung the bag over his shoulder and disappeared into the hallway.

Two doors down sat a vacant piano room, small and windowless. Tsukasa shot a few cautious glances up and down the hall before disappearing inside, ready at last to indulge in the curiosity that had plagued his mind all day. The flick of a light switch filled the room with yellow light. Settling on the bench, Tsukasa drew a hand across ivory keys and steadied his breath.

He took out Leo’s gift. The composition.

Sliding off the ribbon and flattening out curled pages, the first thing that caught Tsukasa’s eyes was a scrawl of writing at the top of the page. A title, if you could call it that: “Suou.” No other introduction. Afterwards, only pages of score in Leo’s unmistakable penmanship, admittedly much neater than usual but still smudged in places, stems still curled slightly to the right, especially toward the ends of each bar.

Still Leo, through and through.

And speaking of Leo.... Tsukasa scanned through the composition itself, a frown tugging at his lips. This level of difficulty was _also_ characteristic of his Leader’s work.

Tsukasa’s upbringing had always stressed a basic proficiency in musical education, but his childhood piano lessons left him far from mastery. Looking at the sheet music before him, this was painfully clear. Would he even be able to key out the melody? The pace and complexity of each measure felt incredibly daunting, and- and what on earth was that _time signature_...?

“Ah, Suu-chan came after all.”

Deeply absorbed in the score, Tsukasa jolted. He whipped around toward the sound of the voice, faced an empty wall before his eyes scanned downward, caught glimpse of a crumpled figure that he’d managed to miss before. The figure was leaned against a shelf, knees drawn against his chest. He rubbed his eyes.

Heart practically in his throat, Tsukasa sighed dramatically.

“Ri- Ritsu-senpai! What on earth are you doing here?!”

“So loud...,” Ritsu moaned.

“I can’t believe you--” Tsukasa shot up from the piano bench, meeting Ritsu at his side and giving his jacket sleeve a firm tug. “You’re sleeping here? In the _school_?”

Ritsu muttered out a weak protest, drowsily pulling against his junior’s grip, but Tsukasa kept going.

“Where is your sense of shame? Is this really a place for a high school student... no, for a member of Knights to be sleeping through the night? And- and in your _clothing_! What if someone were to find you? No, what if someone went looking for you, and--”

“Suu-chan.” Ritsu pulled the sleeve out of Tsukasa’s grasp like it was nothing, and silenced him with a sharp glare. “I was waiting for you.”

Tsukasa blinked. “You.... Pardon?”

Ritsu yawned. Taking the time to stretch out his legs, he kept Tsukasa waiting before giving his answer. “I already got dragged here once tonight, you know...? You know how Secchan is-- Or maybe not quite, he tends to hide it better around you.”

“Sena-senpai brought you here?” Tsukasa’s eyebrows furrowed as he pieced it together.

“He took forever to just admit that he wanted me to play Ou-sama’s song for him. So much fuss for just that.... But once he was gone, the sun was still up, and well....” Ritsu shrugged. “I had a feeling you’d be thinking the same thing.”

“That’s....”

“Ah. And even if you weren’t, it’s not so bad sleeping here, anyway.”

Tsukasa sighed.

For a unit that stressed each member’s individuality, there were times when these Knights fell surprisingly in sync. And there were other times, even more baffling, when even their eccentricities complemented one another quite naturally.

But Tsukasa wouldn’t admit that he was relieved.

“Ritsu-senpai.” The youngest Knight stood straight, trying to protect his composure as he gave a measured response. “While I appreciate your effort to help me, it was unnecessary to do something like falling asleep in the piano room in the process. And in any case, I’m only here to take a glance at the song. I- I have servants at home, who can play it for me, you know. I’m in no rush to--”

“Suu-chan,” Ritsu said, a smile playing on his lips as he matched Tsukasa’s aloof tone. “I’ve already dealt with one tsundere today. Hurry up and give me the sheet music.”

 

 

 

 

Piano benches are too small. This is the thought Tsukasa had, seated at the far edge of the bench while Ritsu had settled in the middle, where he could comfortably reach the pedals and both ends of the keyboard. Ritsu licked his thumb before flipping through pages of the composition. He didn’t seem fazed at all by their situation. Tsukasa, on the other hand, squeezed his thighs together and held his arms tight against his side. If only there’d been another chair.

“Mm, this one switches time signatures a lot.” Ritsu tilted his head, hair falling lazily over one eye. “Shifts into 5/4, and then... ah, Ou-sama never makes things easy, does he....”

“You can play it, can’t you?”

Ritsu frowned. “So impatient, Suu-chan.... I’m doing you a favor, you know? You should praise me instead of rushing.”

Tsukasa flushed. Though he’d considered it a simple question, obviously the impatience in his voice had shown through. “I- I apologize, Ritsu-senpai. Please take your time.” At his sides, Tsukasa’s hands balled into nervous fists.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Ritsu set up the sheet music. He laid his hands, fingers outstretched, lightly over keys. “Flip the page over when I tell you to, okay?”

Without waiting for a response, he began to play.

Tsukasa, as both a member of Knights and an admitted fan, was more than familiar with Leo Tsukinaga’s compositions. Thus, he knew that it was not unusual for them to start this way. Not so much the rumble of thunder, but the sharp and blinding clash of lightning. It bothered with no gradual introduction, only a quick progression of chords that left you rushing to find the melody, to keep up with it.

But Leo Tsukinaga was no elusive modernist, either. Without fail, the melody would find you, would take you by the wrist and pull you headfirst through the song’s terrain. He was an emotional songwriter. Even a master storyteller in his own regard. And once Tsukasa had caught up with the melody, he could feel the song’s story unfold before him.

Though resounding and dramatic, the score proceeded with a surprising lightness. A less skilled pianist would’ve fumbled over abrupt chord changes and quick rhythms; even Ritsu seemed pressed to keep up. But as the song proceeded, Tsukasa was swept right along.

“The page, Suu-chan.”

“Ah- of course.”

The composition’s energy built and built. Equal parts gallant and graceful, steadily gaining in momentum, it left Tsukasa feeling breathless after only seconds. He clutched the hem of his jacket. As Ritsu’s fingers danced up and down the row of keys, he waited anxiously, eagerly.

It was building toward something. Some climax, some release. Without gaining in tempo, it still left the impression of growing faster, wilder, more intense. It was climbing—no, _scrambling_ toward its peak, and then-

Then it stopped.

Suddenly enough that it could’ve been blamed on the pianist’s error, had Ritsu not proceeded without a hitch into the next measure. No, the song continued, just differently. A soft lilt of notes, now steady and slow. Almost another song altogether.

Tsukasa’s right hand moved up to his chin, and he closed his eyes, listening closely. He realized that it really _wasn’t_ another song. It retained some of the same motifs, the same chord progressions as before, just gutted and slowed and weaved into something else entirely.

Something delicate. Something peaceful.

Something more like a lullaby?

Over the following minutes, this became the pattern. As before, the song would build up, skillful and daring and loud. It would climb steadily, and just as Tsukasa braced for culmination, the rhythm would slow once again.

Three times it repeated this pattern. And in its final measures the composition, light and buoyant, faded gently into a final resolving chord. Tsukasa opened his eyes.

Ritsu gathered the pages back up immediately, as though to deter his junior from requesting an encore. He stacked them, rolled them back up, and slid on the ribbon. (Before the writing disappeared, Tsukasa eyed that scrawled “Suou” one last time.) Ritsu held it out.

Tsukasa took the pages and put them in his bag.

All in all, the song lasted only a few minutes. Tsukasa was sure of that much. It was a difficult piece, in terms of technique, but with melodic qualities that any listener would find appealing and easy to follow. A fine gift, of course. No one could deny that.

“It’s different than what he wrote Secchan,” Ritsu mused, breaking their silence casually.

“Oh?”

“Mm. Secchan got a love song.”

Tsukasa put a hand on the keyboard. Stretching out fingers, he tapped two of the higher keys delicately, playing a string of soft notes to no particular rhythm. It was a sudden impulse, but one he found himself indulging without hesitation. His fingers felt numb.

The piano was there, so Tsukasa played notes. As though the sudden, shaky, bottoming-out feeling in the pit of his stomach had a voice. As though it could be heard.

As though the soft plunking of keys could drown that voice out, ensuring that Ritsu couldn’t hear it.

That Tsukasa himself didn’t have to hear it.

“But you know,” Ritsu continued, ignoring the disruption, “I can tell he thinks a lot of you, too.”

Tsukasa’s hand slid off the keys and fell back into his lap.

“The song never reaches a climax, does it?” he said stiffly. “It builds and builds, but whenever you feel that it’s going to _crescendo_ , he... he tapers off, does he not? It relaxes again.” Forcing himself to look at Ritsu, Tsukasa frowned. “What does that mean, Ritsu-senpai?”

Ritsu eyed the keys, brows arching. His languid gaze revealed a hint of contemplation, but when he answered a moment later, it was with the same passivity as always. “Who knows? You’d have to ask him yourself.”

“I just don’t understand,” Tsukasa continued, disregarding the dissatisfying response. “Is it intended to feel so... so frustrating? Is he criticizing me in some way? Those parts in the song, they feel like they signal some retreat or... or an inability to follow through. I know that I am inexperienced, but it feels unnecessary to so-”

“ _Shhhhh_.”

Tsukasa stopped as his hands, animatedly gesturing with each word, were clamped at the wrists. Ritsu lowered them. “Hush, hush,” he said. “Suu-chan, you worry too much, you know? Come on~”

It took no further encouragement. Typically, Tsukasa would have resisted, tried to save face. Only minutes ago, he’d been uneasy about even sharing the same bench. But whether due to their privacy, his exhaustion, or the simple need for comfort, Tsukasa gave in to Ritsu’s guiding hands on his shoulder.

“ _Good boy_.”

Hugs from his senpai—from anyone other than his parents, really—were still a foreign experience. Using the arms around his shoulders as an example, Tsukasa draped his arms loosely around Ritsu’s middle, limply clasping fingers together at his back. Ritsu was thin and wiry. But the hug was warmer than he’d expected.

Resting his forehead on Ritsu’s shoulder, Tsukasa sighed.

“How frustrating,” he said.

“There, there....”

“Frustrating....” Tsukasa shook his head softly and buried his eyes against Ritsu’s jacket.

There was silence, slow and close and comforting, for almost a minute before he continued.

“Thank you for playing the song for me, Ritsu-senpai. I apologize for not saying so earlier, in my distress.”

At this, Ritsu chuckled. “Even when he’s a troublesome child, Suu-chan is still so polite.”

It was odd, Tsukasa thought, that the teasing felt more of a comfort than an insult.

“There is so much about Leader that I do not understand. Not that I particularly care to, but... I would at least like to know what the song means. Whether I am falling short of his standards, or whether he sees in me some defect, or an imbalance, or....”

“I don’t think that’s it, Suu-chan.” Ritsu’s tone was firmer than before, almost reprimanding. “Like I said, if you really want the answer, you’ll have to ask him yourself, all right? Worrying about it like this won’t solve anything.” He patted Tsukasa’s back slowly, and continued with a soft sigh. “But I doubt he meant anything bad. We’re all proud of you, you know. And this is just my opinion, but I thought the song was... hm, kind of heroic? It’s a ballad.”

A ballad.

The hands at Ritsu’s back clasped together tighter. Tsukasa pulled at his fingers, a wave of nerves pooling in his stomach.

There was still so much to question. And he knew that he couldn’t ask Leo about the song.

“Well,” Tsukasa mumbled, “at least he finally remembers my name.”

Ritsu huffed a tiny laugh.

 

 

 

 

In the end, Tsukasa convinced Ritsu to go home.

“There’s really no need for you to walk in this cold weather,” Tsukasa said, eyeing his senpai’s half-closed zipper, which exposed the low neck-line of his t-shirt underneath. He had to urge to grab it and zip it all the way up, but.... Ah, the thought of touching each other more was suddenly embarrassing. Perhaps he’d reached a limit for the night?

“My driver is always on call,” Tsukasa continued, opting to look up at the falling snow instead. “Though I hate to bother him this late at night, if I explain that we both need transportation, he would gladly-”

“It’s okay, Suu-chan.” Ritsu put his arms over his head and stretched out with a satisfied hum. “The sun went down, so I have lots~ of energy. And if I keep moving, it won’t be cold, either.”

“Are you sure? It’s really no trouble.”

“Hmm, when I’m not being too lazy, then I’m being too independent. I’m starting to feel batted around by all these conflicting expectations, you know.”

Tsukasa smiled wryly. “I think I’m the one experiencing whiplash. Not to be rude, but your sudden changes in mood can be quite... mystifying, Ritsu-senpai.”

“Hmph.” Ritsu frowned. He opened his mouth and paused, as though weighing a biting remark on the tip of his tongue. But then, disregarding it, he simply shrugged. “Mystifying, huh? Isn’t that everyone in Knights?”

“Certainly not me,” Tsukasa returned without pause.

At this, Ritsu only smiled. “If you say so, Suu-chan.”

As Ritsu took his leave, Tsukasa opted not to call his driver. Not tonight. It would be a hassle for the driver himself, and furthermore, a waste of the opportunity to experience this evening in full. As a light snow continued to descend on the city, all was unnaturally quiet. Tsukasa stood at the gates of Yumenosaki. He glanced up the road, where not a single car nor bird nor pedestrian graced his line of vision.

Tonight, he would embrace this silence. It would clear his mind, his spirit, and give him the chance to think deeply. Only the sound of his own steady footsteps would accompany him home. And along the way, perhaps he could indulge in a thought left on the piano room floor, a thought drowned out by the soft tapping of keys.

Yumenosaki Academy, at last abandoned for the night, sat empty of music until morning.

And Tsukasa Suou, the knight who fights and endeavors and pardons rogue kings, walked home alone in a dust of falling snow.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on Twitter!! @softlee_


End file.
